Aug 13 Featured Artist: JenniferSmith

JenniferSmith’s designs are a rare mix of lovable kawaii characters with a seamless undertone of “dark humor” that is delightful and unnerving at the same time. Her art encourages you to taste eyeball ice-cream, hug a cuddly Grim Reaper, or get a new “ugly pugly” as a pet.

Jennifer’s distinct outlook and sense of humor are evident in her eccentric designs, as well as, her hilarious perspective on life. She shares that even if she was a “bazillionaire” she’d stay on Waiheke Island in New Zealand because it has everything she could possibly want, like “relative safety from a possible zombie apocalypse.” She also confesses that she loves her favorite sweatshirt — a Lisa Frank rainbow Pegasus design — so much that she will continue to wear it even “when I become old because why not?”

Jennifer’s adorable kawaii designs are vibrant snapshots from a person who sees the world through her own exciting and unique lens.

JenniferSmith is interested in the artwork of the Ancient Egyptians and would love to uncover how the sacred tombs were painted and the pyramids were built. She wants to travel back in time to uncover the truth and then “come back to the present and release the truth on the internet, possibly as a comic strip.” However, more than any other art style or period, it is the “countless artists behind the rock posters and skateboard graphics of the 90’s & 2000’s” who she is especially beholden to and encouraged her “love of weird” artwork.

JenniferSmith believes that creativity is being able to imagine something that can be brought “into the world as a fully formed, finished work for others to see and most importantly, enjoy.” She has a “finalized vision of how a piece is going to look” and gets disheartened when it does not match her vision. However, she says, “I always push myself to finish it” because even if it is not exactly what she envisioned, it might be better than she anticipated. She also jokes that her creative process can feel like a reoccurring cycle of: 1) procrastinating with ideas and Pinterest 2) sketching the idea 3) hating it 4) repeating Steps 1-3 and then doing it over and over “until something clicks in my brain.”

JenniferSmith loves the idea of her art being a “conversation starter” and bringing people together. Still, her greatest wish is that “people can appreciate how much fun” she had creating the art — an objective that is demonstrated with her fun designs.